Another time I received the gift of the Spirit, I took a retreat by myself to a cabin in the woods. I arrived late in the afternoon and it was already dark outside since the month was February. I decided to make a fire and spend some time in prayer before preparing dinner.  

As soon as the fire was roaring and I settled into a deep meditation, I began to weep uncontrollably in sadness for a person very close to me who had been in an unhappy marriage for years.

The sensation I felt was, that I was taking on all the years of sadness and pain but somehow it was dissipating through me to God so that it was at the same time elating and joyful.  I had never experienced anything like this previously but I knew innately that it was healing and, therefore, continued in that state for a length of time.  

Eventually, my prayer and focus shifted to another friend whose daughter had suffered extreme trauma. Again, the tears, sadness, elation, and joy continued until the focus again shifted to the daughter of another good friend who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness.

All in all, the weeping and joy continued over a period of two hours.  I immediately called my wife to share with her what had happened.  I didn’t know how to interpret what had happened but I was certain that it was the work of the Holy Spirit and worthy of trust.  

Within a week after returning from the retreat, I had spoken to my close friend and the two mothers about what I had experienced.  Several months later, I was reading about the “gift of tears” that was experienced by some of the “desert fathers” (some had attempted to prolong it as much as two years) and it allowed me to name my own experience.

Click to check out Gifts of The Spirit: Part 1, Gifts of The Spirit: Part 3, and Gifts of The Spirit: Part 4